Wideo Wabbit is a 1956 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson . The short was released on October 27, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd . In the film, Bugs volunteers for an appearance in a television show hosted by Elmer. He is unaware that this is a show about hunting techniques, and he volunteers to become a hunter's prey.
138-473: Bugs Bunny is singing "This Is My Lucky Day" when he comes on an ad in the newspaper wanting a rabbit for a show at the QTTV-TV studio. When he gets there, the producer makes Bugs climb a ladder wired to a 10,000-volt fuse box. Unbeknownst to Bugs, it is a hunting show starring Elmer Fudd called The Sportsman's Hour , sponsored by The French Fried Fresh Frozen Rabbit Company. He teaches the audience about how to hunt
276-399: A cameo appearance by Bugs, announcing to the audience that 750 rabbits have been born. The gag uses Bugs' Wild Hare visual design, but his goofier pre- Wild Hare voice characterization. The second full-fledged role for the mature Bugs, Chuck Jones ' Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941), is the first to use Bugs' name on-screen: it appears in a title card, "featuring Bugs Bunny," at the start of
414-461: A sanitarium — into which Bugs would, of course, somehow find his way. In Dog Gone People , he had an ordinary office job working for demanding boss "Mister Cwabtwee". In another cartoon ( A Mutt in a Rut ) he appeared to work in an office and had a dog he called "Wover Boy", whom he took hunting, though Bugs did not appear. (Elmer also has a hunting dog in To Duck or Not to Duck ; in that film,
552-657: A "scwewy" (screwy) or "wascawwy (rascally) wabbit". Elmer's signature catchphrase is, "Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits", as well as his trademark laughter. The best known Elmer Fudd cartoons include Chuck Jones ' work What's Opera, Doc? (one of the few times Fudd bested Bugs, though he felt bad about it), the Rossini parody Rabbit of Seville , and the "Hunting Trilogy" of "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" shorts ( Rabbit Fire , Rabbit Seasoning , and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! ) with Fudd, Bugs Bunny , and Daffy Duck . An earlier prototype of character named Elmer set some of
690-599: A 76-issues Bugs Bunny series (translated and reprinted from the American comics) in the mid-1970s. The Danish publisher Egmont Ehapa produced a weekly reprint series in the mid-1990s. The Bugs Bunny comic strip ran for almost 50 years, from January 10, 1943, to December 30, 1990, syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association . It started out as a Sunday page and added a daily strip on November 1, 1948. The strip originated with Chase Craig , who did
828-751: A Bugs Bunny comic book from Dec. 1952/Jan. 1953 to 1983. The company also published 81 issues of the joint title Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny from December 1970 to 1983. During the 1950s Dell also published a number of Bugs Bunny spinoff titles. Creators on those series included Chase Craig , Helen Houghton , Eleanor Packer , Lloyd Turner , Michael Maltese , John Liggera, Tony Strobl , Veve Risto, Cecil Beard, Pete Alvorado, Carl Fallberg , Cal Howard , Vic Lockman , Lynn Karp, Pete Llanuza, Pete Hansen, Jack Carey, Del Connell, Kellog Adams, Jack Manning, Mark Evanier , Tom McKimson, Joe Messerli, Carlos Garzon, Donald F. Glut , Sealtiel Alatriste, Sandro Costa, and Massimo Fechi. The German publisher Condor published
966-488: A big put-on. Let's face it, Doc. I've read the script and I already know how it turns out." — Bob Clampett on Bugs Bunny, written in first person . Bugs Bunny's fast-talking speech pattern was inspired to a degree by the character of Oscar Shapely in the 1934 film It Happened One Night . In the film, Shapely addresses Clark Gable 's character Peter Warne as "Doc", and Warne mentions an imaginary person named "Bugs Dooley" to frighten Shapely. Referring to
1104-409: A brief headshot cameo appearance in the final scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) with other famous characters. Elmer would also appear frequently on the animated series Tiny Toon Adventures as a teacher at Acme Looniversity, where he was the idol and favorite teacher of Elmyra Duff , the slightly deranged animal lover who resembles Elmer in basic head design, name and lack of intellect. On
1242-502: A broadcast, in lieu of a slide showing the channel logo/name, sometimes a screenshot of the producer holding the "Program Temporarily Interrupted - Please Stand By" sign up to the TV camera from this cartoon would be used (More commonly, the Cartoon Network station identification slide was also used with characters from various Hanna-Barbera/MGM cartoons in a blue checkerboard background as it’s
1380-773: A cameo appearance at the end of Looney Tunes: Back in Action and was also given in his own story, which starred him alongside Pete Puma , in the Looney Tunes comic book. One animation history suggests that the Egghead character was based on Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoonist and entertainer Robert Ripley . Egghead has the distinction of being the first recurring character created for Leon Schlesinger 's Merrie Melodies series (to be followed by such characters as Sniffles , Inki , Elmer Fudd, and even Bugs Bunny), which had previously contained only one-shot characters, although during
1518-556: A carrot. So, for the sake of expedience, Blanc munched and then spit the carrot bits into a spittoon , rather than swallowing them, and continued with the dialogue. One often-repeated story, which dates back to the 1940s, is that Blanc was allergic to carrots and had to spit them out to minimize any allergic reaction — but his autobiography makes no such claim. In fact, in a 1984 interview with Tim Lawson , co-author of The Magic Behind The Voices: A Who's Who of Voice Actors , Blanc emphatically denied being allergic to carrots. Bugs Bunny
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#17328559591741656-406: A change to his fur from gray to a shade of mauve (though in the second season, his fur was changed back to gray). In the series, Bugs and Daffy Duck are portrayed as best friends as opposed to their usual pairing as friendly rivals. At the same time, Bugs is more vocally exasperated by Daffy's antics in the series (sometimes to the point of anger), compared to his usual level-headed personality from
1794-494: A cigar. Geez, what a Groucho!". That is the second time that Bugs has played Groucho Marx to avoid Elmer. The first time was Friz Freleng 's cartoon Slick Hare (1947), but Elmer comes much closer to catching Bugs in that Groucho scene than in the one in Wideo Wabbit , by means of disguise as Groucho's brother Harpo . When Bugs is masquerading as Liberace and playing the piano, the part where he gets his fingers tied in
1932-599: A clause in his contract that required him to receive a screen credit and, perhaps inadvertently, denied the same to other voice performers. Blanc would take on the role regularly in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, supplying Elmer's voice for new footage in The Bugs Bunny Show (while Smith voiced the character in the commercials until 1965 when Blanc took up the role full time), The Porky Pig Show , compilation feature films and similar TV specials, as well as some all-new specials. He admitted in his autobiography that he found
2070-494: A comment. In "A Christmas Carol," Elmer Fudd reports on Foghorn Leghorn's plans to end the heat wave on Christmas. Elmer Fudd later joins the other characters in the Christmas song called "Christmas Rules" at the end of the episode. In "Dear John," Elmer Fudd reports on Daffy Duck winning a spot on the city council. Elmer Fudd later reports on Daffy Duck's apparent death where he supposedly lost control of his parade float and drove into
2208-578: A fun-loving personality. After Pet Rabbit , however, subsequent Bugs appearances returned to normal: the Wild Hare visual design and personality returned, and Blanc re-used the Wild Hare voice characterization. Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941), directed by Friz Freleng , became the second Bugs Bunny cartoon to receive an Academy Award nomination. The fact that it did not win the award was later spoofed somewhat in What's Cookin' Doc? (1944), in which Bugs demands
2346-620: A green long sleeve shirt, green pants, and a bald circle-like human head. At the end of the cartoon, the character tells the villain, the big bad wolf, that he is "the hero in this picture" after he hits the wolf in the head with a mallet. He then continued to make more appearances in the Warner cartoons in 1938, such as in The Isle of Pingo Pongo (made and copyrighted in 1937, released in 1938) (also Prototype-Elmer's second appearance), Cinderella Meets Fella (1938), A Feud There Was (the first time he
2484-500: A heavy-set, beer-bellied character, patterned after Arthur Q. Bryan's real-life appearance, and still chasing Bugs (or vice versa). However, audiences did not accept a fat Fudd, so the slimmer version returned for good. This period also saw a temporary change in Elmer's relationship with Bugs Bunny. Instead of being the hunter, Elmer was the victim of unprovoked pestering by Bugs. In Wabbit Twouble , Bugs plays several gags on Elmer, advising
2622-440: A huge round of applause from the audience. Bugs tells Elmer they may be on to something, and Elmer, with the vaudevillian's instinct of sticking with a gag that catches on, nods that they should re-use it. According to this account, the common Elmer-as-hunter episodes are entirely staged. One episode where Bugs "lost" in the hunting was Hare Brush (1956). Here, Elmer has been committed to an insane asylum because he believes he
2760-431: A knot was reused animation from another Freleng cartoon, Rhapsody Rabbit (1946). When Elmer is tracking Bugs' footprints while giving tips, music is reused from A Wild Hare where Bugs taps on Elmer's head and introduces his catch phrase . McKimson (who directed this cartoon) animated A Wild Hare without receiving screen credit. The call letters for the TV station in the cartoon, "QTTV", are lifted from KTTV ,
2898-715: A local television station in Los Angeles . The exterior of the QTTV studio bears more than a passing resemblance to that of the CBS Television City complex. This is the final Bugs Bunny cartoon which uses the Carl Stalling melody What's Up, Doc? over the title cards. Butler would later use the Ed Norton voice for Yogi Bear . In the mid-1990s, whenever Cartoon Network would have technical difficulties that would interrupt
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#17328559591743036-410: A medieval Bugs trades blows with Yosemite Sam and his fire-breathing dragon (which has a cold), won an Academy Award for Best Cartoon Short Subject (becoming the first and only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win said award). Three of Jones' films— Rabbit Fire , Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! —compose what is often referred to as the "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" trilogy and were the origins of
3174-461: A more common screenshot whenever the network experiences technical difficulties). For unknown reasons at one point, whenever one episode of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries is about to end a shot of that scene is shown for 1 second. The concept was used briefly until between 1999 and 2000 when it was replaced by a still photo of a Cartoon Network station identification logo in a background of a cartoonish Arizona desert referring both Wile E. Coyote and
3312-573: A more villainous role in Looney Tunes: Back in Action . He first appears as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck's co-star in a new movie, where he shoots Daffy repeatedly, and is later seen shooting Bugs per the film's script after Daffy's firing. He later appears in the Louvre museum, where he reveals himself to be a secret agent for the Acme Corporation . Elmer chases Bugs and Daffy through the paintings in
3450-404: A one-joke act cross-country, with Bugs dressed like a pinhead, and when he does not know the answer to a joke, Elmer gives it and hits him with a pie in the face. Bugs begins to tire of this gag and pulls a surprise on Fudd, answering the joke correctly and bopping Elmer with a mallet , which prompts the man to point his rifle at Bugs. The bunny asks nervously: "Eh, what's up doc?", which results in
3588-450: A party for vengeance. Batman confronts Elmer in his apartment and defeats the gunman in a fight, where Elmer tells Batman about Silver's death and Bugs. Elmer and Batman return to Porky's and take out most of the crowd before confronting Bugs. The three are shocked to find Silver in the bar herself, where she revealed that she left Bruce and Elmer because of their dangerous lifestyles and had Bugs fake her death. The story ends with all three of
3726-524: A period of a couple of years. However, animation historian Michael Barrier asserts, that "Elmer Fudd was not a modified version of his fellow Warner Bros. character Egghead" and that "the two characters were always distinct. That was evidenced by Elmer's early prototype being identified in a Warner publicity sheet for Cinderella Meets Fella (filed with the Library of Congress as a copyright description) as 'Egghead's brother.'" and that "The Egghead-Elmer story
3864-645: A pet dog) and Speedy Gonzales , in the middle of a cul-de-sac with their neighbors Yosemite Sam, Granny , and Witch Hazel . In 2015, Bugs starred in the direct-to-video film Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run , and later returned to television yet again as the star of Cartoon Network and Boomerang 's comedy series New Looney Tunes (formerly Wabbit ). In 2020, Bugs began appearing on the HBO Max streaming series Looney Tunes Cartoons . His design for this series primarily resembles his Bob Clampett days, complete with yellow gloves and his signature carrot. His personality
4002-476: A pitchman for companies including Kool-Aid and Nike . His Nike commercials with Michael Jordan as "Hare Jordan" for the Air Jordan VII and VIII became precursors to Space Jam . As a result, he has spent time as an honorary member of Jordan Brand , including having Jordan's Jumpman logo done in his image. In 2015, as part of the 30th anniversary of Jordan Brand, Nike released a mid-top Bugs Bunny version of
4140-452: A postal-themed drawing. Avery Dennison printed the Bugs Bunny stamp sheet, which featured "a special ten-stamp design and was the first self-adhesive souvenir sheet issued by the U.S. Postal Service ." A younger version of Bugs is the main character of Baby Looney Tunes , which debuted on Kids' WB in 2001. In the action-comedy Loonatics Unleashed , his definite descendant Ace Bunny
4278-484: A producer and brings Elmer into a show called Fancy Dress Party (a parody of The Arthur Murray Dance Party ), Elmer gets changed into a rabbit costume, and Bugs gets into Elmer's hunting outfit. Bugs goes back on The Sportsman's Hour and shoots Elmer in his rabbit suit as Elmer gets angry. Bugs then comes in dressed as Ed Norton from The Honeymooners and gives Elmer a cigar with Groucho Marx 's glasses and eyebrows while quoting "Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy. Have
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4416-454: A rabbit hole. Elmer's role in these two films, that of would-be hunter, dupe and foil for Bugs, would remain his main role forever after, and although Bugs Bunny was called upon to outwit many more worthy opponents, Elmer somehow remained Bugs' classic nemesis, despite (or because of) his legendary gullibility, small size, short temper, and shorter attention span. In Rabbit Fire , he declares himself vegetarian, hunting for sport only. Elmer
4554-469: A rabbit. He signals the cue for Bugs to come up out of the hole by pushing a button to activate the fuse box. When Bugs emerges, Elmer starts shooting. Bugs will not cooperate being shot at and Bugs takes this as professional jealousy, but on a scale he had never imagined. As Bugs leaves the studio with Elmer in pursuit, the producer frantically holds up a sign to the camera that says "Program Temporarily Interrupted. Please Stand By." Elmer chases Bugs all over
4692-481: A recount (claiming to be a victim of " sa-bo-TAH-gee ") after losing the Oscar to James Cagney and presents a clip from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt to prove his point. By 1942, Bugs had become the number one star of Merrie Melodies . The series was originally intended only for one-shot characters in films after several early attempts to introduce characters ( Foxy , Goopy Geer , and Piggy ) failed under Harman – Ising . By
4830-521: A red nose) and his familiar hunting clothes. He is much more recognizable as the Elmer Fudd of later cartoons than Bugs is here. In his new appearances, Elmer actually "wikes wabbits", either attempting to take photos of Bugs, or adopting Bugs as his pet. The rascally rabbit has the poor Fudd so perplexed that there is little wonder as to why Elmer would become a hunter and in some cases actually proclaim, "I hate wittle gway wabbits!" after pumping buckshot down
4968-467: A scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz " as he hops away as if he had planned the whole thing. Elmer Fudd has occasionally appeared in other costumes, notably as Cupid, opposite Daffy Duck in The Stupid Cupid (1944). The Bugs–Elmer partnership was so familiar to audiences that in a late 1950s cartoon, Bugs' Bonnets , a character study is made of what happens to the relationship between
5106-778: A separate character). While Bugs made a cameo in Porky Pig's Feat (1943), this was his only appearance in a black-and-white Looney Tunes film. He did not star in a Looney Tunes film until that series made its complete conversion to only color cartoons beginning in 1944. Buckaroo Bugs was Bugs' first film in the Looney Tunes series and was also the last Warner Bros. cartoon to credit Schlesinger (as he had retired and sold his studio to Warner Bros. that year). Bugs' popularity soared during World War II because of his free and easy attitude, and he began receiving special star billing in his cartoons by 1943. By that time, Warner Bros. had become
5244-472: A sketch where he portrayed Gutzon Borglum . This sketch depicts Elmer/Gutzon's construction of Mount Rushmore , accompanied by Borglum's son Lincoln, portrayed by Loud Kiddington . Elmer made another appearance on Histeria! , this time in his traditional role, during a sketch where the bald eagle trades places with the turkey during Thanksgiving weekend, featured in the episode "Americana". Fudd also appeared on The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries in
5382-611: A spy working for the Mexican general Foghorn Leghorn. In the 2017 DC Comics/Looney Tunes crossover books, an alternate version of Elmer Fudd was created for a story in which the character was designed more for the DC Universe and was pitted against Batman in the Batman/Elmer Fudd Special . In the story, Elmer is a bounty hunter that originated from the country side before he moved to Gotham to make ends meet. He considered putting
5520-456: A time like that. So that's why it's funny, I think. In other words it's asking a perfectly legitimate question in a perfectly illogical situation." — Chuck Jones on Bugs Bunny's catchphrase "What's up Doc?" The carrot-chewing scenes are generally followed by Bugs' most well-known catchphrase, "What's up, Doc?", which was written by director Tex Avery for his first Bugs Bunny film, A Wild Hare (1940). Avery explained later that it
5658-401: Is Elmer Fudd, after which Bugs starts wearing hunting clothes and acting like Elmer, hunting the rabbit-costumed Fudd, who is in turn acting like Bugs. Their hunt is cut short when Bugs is arrested by a government agent as Elmer Fudd is wanted for tax evasion . After Bugs is hauled away trying to explain that the rabbit is Elmer Fudd, Fudd breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience "I may be
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5796-453: Is a rabbit (though it is also revealed that he is a millionaire and owns a mansion and a yacht ). Bugs Bunny enters Fudd's room and Elmer bribes him with carrots , then leaves the way the real rabbit entered. Bugs acts surprisingly (for him) naïve, assuming Elmer just wanted to go outside for a while. Elmer's psychiatrist arrives, and thinking Fudd's delusion has affected his appearance, drugs Bugs and conditions him into believing that he
5934-451: Is a combination of Freleng's trickery, Clampett's defiance, and Jones’ resilience, while also maintaining his confident, insolent, smooth-talking demeanor. Bugs is voiced by Eric Bauza , who is also the current voice of Daffy Duck and Tweety , among others. In 2020, the USPS issued a new set of Bugs stamps . This was a part from a collection honoring the classic Looney Tunes characters. Bugs
6072-418: Is actually a little messy, my sense being that most of the people involved, whether they were making the films or publicizing them, not only had trouble telling the characters apart but had no idea why they should bother trying." Egghead made his second appearance in 1938's Daffy Duck & Egghead and was teamed with Warner Bros. ' newest cartoon star Daffy Duck . Egghead continued to make appearances in
6210-619: Is an anthropomorphic gray-and-white rabbit or hare who is characterized by his flippant, insouciant personality. He is also characterized by a Brooklyn accent, his portrayal as a trickster , and his catchphrase "Eh... What's up, doc?". Through his popularity during the golden age of American animation , Bugs became an American cultural icon and Warner Bros.' official mascot . Bugs starred in more than 160 short films produced between 1940 and 1964. He has since appeared in feature films, television shows, comics, and other media. He has appeared in more films than any other cartoon character,
6348-538: Is available, uncut and restored, on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 , Disc 2. Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antagonizing characters. He speaks in an unusual way, replacing his Rs and Ls with Ws , so he often refers to Bugs Bunny as
6486-539: Is depicted as a gray bunny instead of a white one—is also notable as the rabbit's first singing role. Charlie Thorson , lead animator on the film, gave the character a name. He had written "Bug's Bunny" on the model sheet that he drew for Hardaway. In promotional material for the cartoon, including a surviving 1939 presskit, the name on the model sheet was altered to become the rabbit's own name: "Bugs" Bunny (quotation marks only used, on and off, until 1944). In his autobiography, Blanc claimed that another proposed name for
6624-567: Is dressed as a studio usher ) if he has seen a rabbit go by. Bugs sends Elmer into a studio that is filming You Were There (a parody of You Are There ) which was reenacting Custer's Last Stand . As Elmer comes out having been attacked by Indians , Bugs redirects Elmer to Studio C for The Medic . Elmer says "Oh, much obliged" as he is leaving with a tomahawk in the back of his head and three arrows in his back. Elmer continues his search for Bugs stating that unless he finds "that wabbit", his career will be ruined. Finally, Bugs appears dressed as
6762-468: Is fully called "Elmer Fudd") (1938), Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas (1938), Hamateur Night (made and copyrighted in 1938, released in 1939), A Day at the Zoo (made and copyrighted in 1938, released in 1939) and Believe It or Else (1939), mostly as a "running gag" character. In A Feud There Was (1938), Elmer made his entrance riding a motor scooter with the words "Elmer Fudd, Peacemaker" displayed on
6900-730: Is his usual catchphrase. Although it was usually Porky Pig who brought the Looney Tunes films to a close with his stuttering, "That's all, folks!", Bugs replaced him at the end of Hare Tonic and Baseball Bugs , bursting through a drum just as Porky did, but munching on a carrot and saying, in his Bronx/Brooklyn accent, "And that's the end!" After World War II, Bugs continued to appear in numerous Warner Bros. cartoons, making his last "Golden Age" appearance in False Hare (1964). He starred in over 167 theatrical short films, most of which were directed by Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, and Chuck Jones. Freleng's Knighty Knight Bugs (1958), in which
7038-553: Is labeled as Bugs Bunny but is also identical to his prototype in Camera . In the interim, the two starred in A Wild Hare . Bugs appears with a carrot, New York City accent , and "What's Up, Doc?" catchphrase all in place for the first time, although the voice and physique are as yet somewhat off. Elmer has a better voice, a trimmer figure (designed by Bob Givens , which would be reused soon later in Jones' Good Night Elmer , this time without
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#17328559591747176-427: Is playing the piano. When Bugs sees Elmer, he shows piano keys like teeth, calls Elmer "his brother George ", and tells Elmer to take the candelabra over to Mother. The candles are actually sticks of dynamite that blow up Elmer enough to wreck his clothes. Bugs quoted as Liver-ace "I did it because I wanted my show to go off with a bang"! While chasing Bugs out of the studio and looking for him, Elmer asks Bugs (who
7314-427: Is presented there in a range of comical positions and facial expressions. Bugs made his return to movie theaters in the 2021 Space Jam sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy , this time starring NBA superstar LeBron James . In 2022, a new pre-school animated series titled Bugs Bunny Builders aired on HBO Max and Cartoonito . He is again voiced by Eric Bauza. Bugs has also appeared in numerous video games , including
7452-462: Is shot in the face by his toy battleship; in Wideo Wabbit , Blanc did Elmer's cry of pain; and in What's Opera, Doc? , Elmer's furious scream "SMOG!" was dubbed by Blanc, although Bryan had voiced the rest of the part. In The Stupid Cupid (1944), since Elmer has no dialogue in the cartoon, Frank Graham provided his laugh. Later, during the musician's union strike of 1958, Dave Barry did
7590-471: Is the leader of the Loonatics team and seems to have inherited his ancestor's Brooklyn accent and rapier wit. In 2011, Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang returned to television in the Cartoon Network sitcom, The Looney Tunes Show . The characters feature new designs by artist Jessica Borutski. Among the changes to Bugs' appearance were the simplification and enlargement of his feet, as well as
7728-491: Is the ninth most-portrayed film personality in the world and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . According to Chase Craig , who wrote and drew the first Bugs Bunny comic Sunday pages and the first Bugs comic book , "Bugs was not the creation of any one man; however, he rather represented the creative talents of perhaps five or six directors and many cartoon writers including Charlie Thorson . In those days,
7866-597: Is the pet rabbit of unseen character Sham-Fu the Magician. Two dogs, fleeing the local dogcatcher, enter the rabbit's absent master's house. The rabbit harasses them but is ultimately bested by the bigger of the two dogs. This version of the rabbit was cool, graceful, and controlled. He retained the guttural laugh but was otherwise silent. The rabbit's third appearance comes in Hare-um Scare-um (1939), directed again by Dalton and Hardaway. This cartoon—the first in which he
8004-504: Is wubbing me the wong way!" He was again voiced by Billy West . Elmer Fudd appears in The Looney Tunes Show , voiced by Billy West . Portrayed as a wealthy businessman coming home after a hard day's work in the "Merrie Melodies" part of the episode "Best Friends," he sings about his love of " gwiwwed cheese " sandwiches. He later had a brief cameo appearance in "Fish and Visitors" as a weather forecaster briefly exclaiming about
8142-794: The Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle series, Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout , Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage , Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble , Looney Tunes B-Ball , Looney Tunes Racing , Looney Tunes: Space Race , Bugs Bunny Lost in Time , Bugs Bunny and Taz Time Busters , Loons: The Fight for Fame , Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal , Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes: Cartoon Universe , Looney Tunes Dash , Looney Tunes World of Mayhem and MultiVersus . "Some people call me cocky and brash, but actually I am just self-assured. I'm nonchalant, imperturbable, contemplative. I play it cool, but I can get hot under
8280-543: The Harman-Ising era, Foxy , Goopy Geer , and Piggy each appeared in a few Merrie Melodies. One of Egghead's final appearances is Count Me Out . In 1937, Tex Avery created a very early version of Elmer Fudd and introduced him in Little Red Walking Hood , as mysterious hero whistling everywhere he goes. In this cartoon, he had a derby hat, small squinty eyes, big reddish nose, a high collar around his neck,
8418-640: The Louvre museum, taking on the different art styles as they do so. At the end, Elmer forgets to change back to his normal style after jumping out of the pointillist painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat , allowing Bugs to easily disintegrate Elmer by blowing a fan at him. A four-year-old version of Elmer was featured in the Baby Looney Tunes episode "A Bully for Bugs", where he kept taking all of Bugs' candy, and also bullied
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#17328559591748556-483: The 1930s and whose voice might be described as New York Irish . In Bugs' following cartoon Elmer's Pet Rabbit , Blanc created a completely new voice for Bugs, which sounded like a Jimmy Stewart impression, but the directors decided the previous Wild Hare voice was better. Though Blanc's best known character was the carrot-chomping rabbit, munching on the carrots interrupted the dialogue. Various substitutes, such as celery , were tried, but none of them sounded like
8694-454: The 1940s in shorts like the 1942 The Wacky Wabbit . This was notably exhibited in the 1953 short, Duck Amuck , in which Daffy Duck endures various humiliations at the hands of the unseen cartoonist, who in the end is revealed to be Bugs Bunny, who then says this line. The following are the various vocal artists who have voiced Bugs Bunny over the last 80-plus years for both Warner Bros. official productions and others: Mel Blanc voiced
8832-410: The 1988 live-action/animated comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Bugs appeared as one of the inhabitants of Toontown. However, since the film was being produced by Disney , Warner Bros. would only allow the use of their biggest star if he got an equal amount of screen time as Disney's biggest star, Mickey Mouse . Because of this, both characters are always together in frame when onscreen. Roger Rabbit
8970-814: The Animals aired in 1976. From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, Bugs was featured in various animated specials for network television, such as Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet , Bugs Bunny's Easter Special , Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales , and Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over . Bugs also starred in several theatrical compilation features during this time, including the United Artists distributed documentary Bugs Bunny: Superstar (1975) and Warner Bros.' own releases: The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982), and Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988). In
9108-536: The Egghead-like Elmer's appearance was refined, giving him a chin and a less bulbous nose (although still wearing his old clothing that he was wearing in Tex Avery's earlier cartoons) and Arthur Q. Bryan's " Dan McFoo " voice in what most people consider Elmer Fudd's first true appearance: a Chuck Jones short entitled Elmer's Candid Camera , actually Elmer's Ninth appearance, in which a rabbit drives Elmer insane;
9246-533: The Groovie Goolies . He did, however, have two cameo appearances in the 1974 Joe Adamson short A Political Cartoon ; one at the beginning of the short where he campaigns on behalf of equal rights for cartoon characters everywhere, and another in which he is interviewed at a pet store, where he is on sale as an " Easter Rabbit ". Bugs was animated in this short by Mark Kausler. He did not appear in new material on-screen again until Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of
9384-699: The Road Runner . During the mid-2000s, Boomerang in the United States also briefly used the same screenshot in some technical difficulty moments. More commonly until 2015, Boomerang used a still-graphic of the Boomerang logo in the grainy background of the television set from The Flintstones whenever the network experienced difficulties. The producer is a caricature of comedian Frank Nelson , best known for his recurring role on The Jack Benny Program and his drawn-out way of saying "Yeeeeeeeeessss?" Wideo Wabbit
9522-644: The St. Bastian River. In "The Black Widow," Elmer Fudd reports on the theft of the Hillhurst Diamond from the museum caused by someone called "The Black Widow." On June 8, 2011, Elmer starred in the 3-D short "Daffy's Rhapsody" with Daffy Duck . That short was going to precede the film Happy Feet Two , but was instead shown with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island . Elmer Fudd appears in Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run , voiced again by Billy West. He appears as
9660-483: The Take it Back Foundation. This music video features various celebrities, including Pat Benatar , Natalie Cole , Charlie Daniels , Lita Ford , Quincy Jones , B. B. King , Queen Latifah , Kenny Loggins , Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller , Bette Midler , Randy Newman , Tone Lōc , Ozzy Osbourne , Brenda Russell , Al B. Sure! , Ricky Van Shelton , Barry White , and Stevie Wonder , along with Melba Moore as herself and
9798-516: The Valkyries as "Kiww the wabbit, kiww the wabbit, kiww the wabbit...!" or "The Beautifuw Bwue Danube, by Johann Stwauss", Stage Door Cartoon ' s line "Oh, you dubbuh-cwossing wabbit! You tweachewous miscweant! " or the name of actress " Owivia deHaviwwand ". Part of the joke is that Elmer is presumably incapable of pronouncing his own first name correctly. Occasionally, Elmer would properly pronounce an "r" or "l" sound, depending on whether or not it
9936-560: The Warner cartoons in 1938, such as in A-Lad-In Bagdad (1938), and in Count Me Out (1938). Egghead shifts from being bald, to having a Moe Howard haircut. and always has a huge egg-shaped head. Egghead returned decades later in the compilation film Daffy Duck's Quackbusters , while going back to being bald again and redesigned into looking like Elmer Fudd and wearing Elmer Fudd's Clothes and Derby Hat. More recently, he also made
10074-503: The audience, "I do dis kind o' stuff to him all t'wough da picture!" (A line which would later be said, somewhat ironically, by Cecil Turtle as he and his friends cheat Bugs out of winning a race). Another short, The Wacky Wabbit , finds Elmer focused on prospecting for gold which would be used to fund the World War II effort. Elmer sings a variation of the old prospector's tune " Oh! Susanna " made just for this cartoon (complete with
10212-434: The character for 52 years, from Bugs' debut in the 1938 short Porky's Hare Hunt until Blanc's death in 1989. Blanc described the voice he created for Bugs in 1940's A Wild Hare as a combination of Bronx and Brooklyn accents; however, Tex Avery claimed that he asked Blanc to give the character not a New York accent per se , but a voice like that of actor Frank McHugh , who frequently appeared in supporting roles in
10350-444: The character was "Happy Rabbit." In the actual cartoons and publicity, however, the name "Happy" only seems to have been used in reference to Bugs Hardaway. In Hare-um Scare-um , a newspaper headline reads, "Happy Hardaway." Animation historian David Gerstein disputes that "Happy Rabbit" was ever used as an official name, arguing that the only usage of the term came from Mel Blanc himself in humorous and fanciful tales he told about
10488-613: The character's development in the 1970s and 1980s; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as August 1939, in the Motion Picture Herald , in a review for the short Hare-um Scare-um . Thorson had been approached by Tedd Pierce , head of the story department, and asked to design a better look for the rabbit. The decision was influenced by Thorson's experience in designing hares. He had designed Max Hare in Toby Tortoise Returns (Disney, 1936). For Hardaway, Thorson created
10626-502: The collar. And above all I'm a very 'aware' character. I'm well aware that I am appearing in an animated cartoon....And sometimes I chomp on my carrot for the same reason that a stand-up comic chomps on his cigar. It saves me from rushing from the last joke to the next one too fast. And I sometimes don't act, I react. And I always treat the contest with my pursuers as 'fun and games.' When momentarily I appear to be cornered or in dire danger and I scream, don't be consoined – it's actually
10764-496: The dog is named Laramore.) Several episodes featured Elmer differently. One ( What's Up, Doc? , 1950) has Bugs Bunny relating his life story to a biographer, and recalling a time which was a downturn for the movie business. Elmer Fudd is a well-known entertainer who, looking for a new partner for his act, sees Bugs Bunny (after passing caricatures of many other famous 1940s actors (Al Jolson, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Bing Crosby) who, like Bugs, are also out of work). Elmer and Bugs do
10902-609: The duck in a rabbit suit". The white rabbit had an oval head and a shapeless body. In characterization, he was "a rural buffoon ". Mel Blanc gave the character a voice and laugh much like those he later used for Woody Woodpecker . He was loud, zany with a goofy, guttural laugh. The rabbit character was popular enough with audiences that the Termite Terrace staff decided to use it again. The rabbit comes back in Prest-O Change-O (1939), directed by Chuck Jones , where he
11040-521: The early 1990s television series Tiny Toon Adventures , as the principal of Acme Looniversity and the mentor of Babs and Buster Bunny . He made further cameos in Warner Bros.' subsequent animated TV shows Taz-Mania , Animaniacs , and Histeria! Bugs returned to the silver screen in Box-Office Bunny (1991). This was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon since 1964 to be released in theaters and it
11178-493: The end of Super-Rabbit (1943), Bugs appears wearing a United States Marine Corps dress blue uniform. As a result, the Marine Corps made Bugs an honorary Marine master sergeant . From 1943 to 1946, Bugs was the official mascot of Kingman Army Airfield , Kingman, Arizona , where thousands of aerial gunners were trained during World War II. Some notable trainees included Clark Gable and Charles Bronson . Bugs also served as
11316-408: The film Fletch Lives (1989), the eponymous character (while in disguise) gives his name as " Elmer Fudd Gantry ". In amateur radio , new amateurs' mentors are called "Elmers", putatively for superficial resemblance to the cartoon character, and perhaps Fudd's use of "broadcastable" euphemisms while (frequently) swearing. Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in
11454-564: The film (which was edited in following the success of A Wild Hare ). However, Bugs' voice and personality in this cartoon is noticeably different, and his design was slightly altered as well; Bugs' visual design is based on the earlier version in Candid Camera and A Wild Hare , but with yellow gloves, as seen in Hare-Um Scare-Um , and no buck teeth, has a lower-pitched voice and a more aggressive, arrogant and thuggish personality instead of
11592-631: The film, Avery asked Givens to remodel the rabbit. The result had a closer resemblance to Max Hare. He had a more elongated body, stood more erect, and looked more poised. If Thorson's rabbit looked like an infant, Givens' version looked like an adolescent. Blanc gave Bugs the voice of a city slicker. The rabbit was as audacious as he had been in Hare-um Scare-um and as cool and collected as in Prest-O Change-O . Immediately following on A Wild Hare , Bob Clampett 's Patient Porky (1940) features
11730-399: The first cartoon to be so honored, beating the iconic Mickey Mouse. The stamp is number seven on the list of the ten most popular U.S. stamps, as calculated by the number of stamps purchased but not used. The introduction of Bugs onto a stamp was controversial at the time, as it was seen as a step toward the 'commercialization' of stamp art. The postal service rejected many designs and went with
11868-580: The first five weeks before leaving for military service in World War II . Roger Armstrong illustrated the strip from 1942 to 1944. The creators most associated with the strip are writers Albert Stoffel (1947–1979) & Carl Fallberg (1950–1969), and artist Ralph Heimdahl , who worked on it from 1947 to 1979. Other creators associated with the Bugs Bunny strip include Jack Hamm , Carl Buettner, Phil Evans, Carl Barks (1952), Tom McKimson, Arnold Drake , Frank Hill, Brett Koth, and Shawn Keller. Like Mickey Mouse for Disney , Bugs Bunny has served as
12006-474: The first official Bugs Bunny cartoon. It is the first film where both Elmer Fudd and Bugs, both redesigned by Bob Givens , are shown in their fully developed forms as hunter and tormentor, respectively; the first in which Mel Blanc uses what became Bugs' standard voice; and the first in which Bugs uses his catchphrase, "What's up, Doc?" A Wild Hare was a huge success in theaters and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cartoon Short Subject . For
12144-622: The first-season episode A Ticket to Crime as detective Sam Fudd; at the end he took off his clothes and turned into Elmer. Elmer appears as part of the TuneSquad team in Space Jam . In one part of the game he and Yosemite Sam shoot out the teeth of one of the Monstars dressed in black suits while Misirlou is heard in the background, a reference TNG be early films of Quentin Tarantino . Elmer took on
12282-417: The gate in the yard, you walk through the gate and up into the front room, the door is partly open and there's some guy shooting under your living room. So what do you do? You run if you have any sense, the least you can do is call the cops. But what if you come up and tap him on the shoulder and look over and say 'What's up Doc?' You're interested in what he's doing. That's ridiculous. That's not what you say at
12420-696: The late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger Productions ) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc . Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films , produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway 's Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery 's A Wild Hare (1940). Bob Givens , Chuck Jones , and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design. Bugs
12558-408: The mascot for Warner Bros. and its various divisions. According to Guinness World Records , Bugs has appeared in more films (both short and feature-length) than any other cartoon character, and is the ninth most portrayed film personality in the world. On December 10, 1985, Bugs became the second cartoon character (after Mickey) to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . He also has been
12696-542: The mascot for 530 Squadron of the 380th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force , U.S. Air Force , which was attached to the Royal Australian Air Force and operated out of Australia's Northern Territory from 1943 to 1945, flying B-24 Liberator bombers. Bugs riding an air delivered torpedo served as the squadron logo for Marine Torpedo/Bomber Squadron 242 in the Second World War. Additionally, Bugs appeared on
12834-584: The men requesting a glass of carrot juice from Porky. In the issue's backup story, Bugs, Elmer, and Batman re-enact the famous "Rabbit Season, Duck Season" sketch with Batman replacing Daffy as Bugs tells Elmer it is "Bat Season". After getting shot by Elmer too many times, Batman takes Bugs' advice and makes it Robin season, causing Elmer to pursue the Dark Knight's sidekicks instead. Elmer Fudd appears in New Looney Tunes , voiced by Jeff Bergman. Elmer Fudd
12972-531: The mid-1930s, under Leon Schlesinger , Merrie Melodies started introducing newer characters. Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942) shows a slight redesign of Bugs, with less-prominent front teeth and a rounder head. The character was later reworked by Robert McKimson , then an animator in Clampett's unit, for Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943), with more slanted eyes, longer teeth and a much larger mouth. The redesign at first
13110-450: The model sheet previously mentioned, with six different rabbit poses. Thorson's model sheet is "a comic rendition of the stereotypical fuzzy bunny". He had a pear-shaped body with a protruding rear end. His face was flat and had large expressive eyes. He had an exaggerated long neck, gloved hands with three fingers, oversized feet, and a "smart aleck" grin. The result was influenced by Walt Disney Animation Studios ' tendency to draw animals in
13248-412: The more primitive voice. Candid Camera' s Elmer character design is also different: taller and chubbier in the face than the modern model, though Arthur Q. Bryan 's character voice is already established. While Porky's Hare Hunt was the first Warner Bros. cartoon to feature what would become Bugs Bunny, A Wild Hare , directed by Tex Avery and released on July 27, 1940, is widely considered to be
13386-589: The most profitable cartoon studio in the United States. In company with cartoon studios such as Disney and Famous Studios , Warners pitted its characters against Adolf Hitler , Benito Mussolini , Francisco Franco , and the Japanese . Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (1944) features Bugs at odds with a group of Japanese soldiers. This cartoon has since been pulled from distribution due to its depiction of Japanese people. One US Navy propaganda film saved from destruction features
13524-410: The new actor, with Blanc doing Fudd's crying and gurgling in two scenes in the former cartoon, and another ( Crow's Feat (1962)) was made in which Fudd has no lines and therefore no voice, the character was soon retired. Although in more recent years other voice actors have alternated as Elmer's voice, Bryan's characterization remains the definitive one. He was never credited onscreen, because Blanc had
13662-468: The nose of B-24J #42-110157, in both the 855th Bomb Squadron of the 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) and later in the 786th BS of the 466th BG(H), both being part of the 8th Air Force operating out of England. In 1944, Bugs Bunny made a cameo appearance in Jasper Goes Hunting , a Puppetoons film produced by rival studio Paramount Pictures . In this cameo (animated by McKimson, with Blanc providing
13800-466: The original cartoons. Bugs and Daffy are friends with Porky Pig in the series, although Bugs tends to be a better friend to Porky than Daffy is. Bugs also dates Lola Bunny in the show despite the fact that he finds her to be "crazy" and a bit too talkative at first (he later learns to accept her personality quirks, similar to his tolerance for Daffy). Unlike the original cartoons, Bugs lives in a regular home which he shares with Daffy, Taz (whom he treats as
13938-554: The other hand, a younger version of him makes a single appearance in the episode Plucky's Dastardly Deed , and is named "Egghead Jr", the "smartest kid in class". Elmer also made cameos on Animaniacs , one in Turkey Jerky , another in the Pinky and the Brain short, Don't Tread on Us. Elmer also had a guest starring appearance on Histeria! in the episode "The Teddy Roosevelt Show", in
14076-577: The phrase "V for Victory"), with Bugs joining in just before starting to hassle Elmer. He made a later appearance in The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries episode "Moskow Side Story" as a Russian version with a simple name "Boris" who owns another comedy club in Russia. He nearly always mispronounced consonants [r] and [l], pronouncing them as [w] instead (a trait that also characterized Tweety Bird ) when he would talk in his slightly raspy voice. This trait
14214-463: The previous CEO Foghorn Leghorn who retired) where he went with the "Proceed as Planned" choice instead of the "Delay the Merger" choice when he mistook Pete Puma as the new muffin man. As a result of this, Elmer mentioned that 10,000 of its workers are now out of a job and states that experts fear that the world economy could collapse. Elmer also states that disgraced CEO Daffy Duck could not be reached for
14352-505: The prime-time television program The Bugs Bunny Show . This show packaged many of the post-1948 Warners cartoons with newly animated wraparounds. Throughout its run, the series was highly successful, and helped cement Warner Bros. Animation as a mainstay of Saturday-morning cartoons . After two seasons, it was moved from its evening slot to reruns on Saturday mornings. The Bugs Bunny Show changed format and exact title frequently but remained on network television for 40 years. The packaging
14490-490: The rabbit was an early appearance of what would become Bugs Bunny , beginning their long-standing rivalry. Later that year, he appeared in Friz Freleng 's Confederate Honey (where he was called Ned Cutler) and The Hardship of Miles Standish where his voice and Little Red Walking Hood-like appearance were still the same. Jones would use this Elmer one more time, in 1941's Elmer's Pet Rabbit ; its other title character
14628-465: The rainy weather and doing his famous chuckle at the end. In "Working Duck," Elmer Fudd appeared as a newsman where he reports that Daffy Duck was fired from his position as a security guard after falling asleep during a nighttime bank robbery in which $ 10 million was stolen. Later on, Elmer Fudd reports that EnormoCorp went out of business due to the worst business decision in the history of business decisions caused by its CEO Daffy Duck (who succeeded
14766-421: The recognizable Elmer's aspects before the character's more conspicuous features were set. Tex Avery introduced a new character in his cartoon short Egghead Rides Again , released July 17, 1937. Egghead initially was depicted as having a bulbous nose, a voice like Joe Penner (provided by radio mimic Danny Webb) and an egg-shaped head. Many cartoon historians believe that Egghead evolved into Elmer over
14904-691: The rest of his friends. He was also shown with short blond hair. He appeared in most of the songs. An even more villainous Elmer appeared in two episodes of Duck Dodgers as The Mother Fudd , an alien who would spread a disease that caused all affected by it to stand around laughing like Elmer and resemble a grey-skinned version of him (a parody of the Flood in Halo and the Borg in Star Trek ). In Loonatics Unleashed , his descendant, Electro J. Fudd , tried to prove himself
15042-551: The rivalry between Bugs and Daffy Duck. Jones' classic What's Opera, Doc? (1957), casts Bugs and Elmer Fudd in a parody of Richard Wagner 's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1992, becoming the first cartoon short to receive this honor. In the fall of 1960, ABC debuted
15180-412: The same film, Friz Freleng , Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett all claimed that Bugs' nonchalant carrot-chewing style came from a scene where Gable's character eats a carrot while talking. "'What's up Doc?' is a very simple thing. It's only funny because it's in a situation. It was an all Bugs Bunny line. It wasn't funny. If you put it in human terms; you come home late one night from work, you walk up to
15318-430: The shotgun away for good when he fell in love with Silver St. Cloud , but she was killed by hitman Bugs "The Bunny". He goes to a bar called Porky's (which has attendants that are humanoid versions of other famous Looney Tunes stars) to kill Bugs. Bugs confesses to killing Silver, but avoids death by telling Elmer that Bruce Wayne hired him to do it. Elmer believes Bugs as Bruce was Silver's former lover, and shoots Bruce at
15456-409: The side, the first onscreen use of that name. Elmer then appeared on early merchandise and of early Looney Tunes books in 1938 and 1939, and even on the lobby cards for "The Isle of Pingo Pongo" and for "Cinderella Meets Fella" with his name attached on them. In the 1939 cartoon Dangerous Dan McFoo , a new voice actor, Arthur Q. Bryan , was hired to provide the voice of the hero dog character. It
15594-421: The stories were often the work of a group who suggested various gags, bounced them around and finalized them in a joint story conference." A prototype Bugs rabbit with some of the personality of a finalized Bugs, though looking very different, was originally featured in the film Porky's Hare Hunt , released on April 30, 1938. It was co-directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway and an uncredited director Cal Dalton (who
15732-456: The studio. In the first room, Bugs does a show called You Beat Your Wife (a parody of You Bet Your Life ), and Bugs dressed as Groucho Marx contests Elmer. As Bugs walks off, Elmer sees Bugs in disguise and Bugs kisses him. In the next room Elmer gets a cherry pie in his face for the show You're Asking For It (a parody of You Asked for It ). In the following room, Bugs plays "Liver-ace" (a parody of Liberace ), and when Elmer comes in, he
15870-472: The style of cute infants. He had an obvious Disney influence, but looked like an awkward merger of the lean and streamlined Max Hare from The Tortoise and the Hare (1935) and the round, soft bunnies from Little Hiawatha (1937). In Jones' Elmer's Candid Camera (1940), the rabbit first meets Elmer Fudd . This time the rabbit looks more like the present-day Bugs, taller and with a similar face—but retaining
16008-488: The two when they each accidentally don a different selection of hats (Native American wig, pilgrim hat, military helmets, bridal veil and top hat, to name a few). The result is comic mayhem; a steady game of one-upmanship that ultimately leads to matrimony. For a short time in the 1941–1942 season, Elmer's appearance was modified again, for five cartoons: Wabbit Twouble , The Wacky Wabbit , The Wabbit Who Came to Supper , Any Bonds Today? and Fresh Hare . He became
16146-413: The universe's greatest hunter by capturing Ace Bunny , but settled for Danger Duck instead. Elmer himself also makes an appearance in the form of a photo which shows he presumably died at the hands of a giant squirrel . In December 2009, Elmer made an appearance in a GEICO commercial where the director tells him to say rabbits instead of "wabbits". Pushed to the edge, Elmer exclaims, "This diwector
16284-456: The usual voice), Bugs (after being threatened at gunpoint) pops out of a rabbit hole, saying his usual catchphrase; after hearing the orchestra play the wrong theme song, he realizes "Hey, I'm in the wrong picture!" and then goes back in the hole. Bugs also made a cameo in the Private Snafu short Gas , in which he is found stowed away in the titular private's belongings; his only spoken line
16422-480: The voice difficult to get "right", never quite making it his own, which is why his Elmer voice sounded deep and gravelly in the 60s and 70s; however, it began sounding closer to Bryan's Elmer voice, beginning with Bugs Bunny's Valentine (1979). In Speechless (1989), the famous lithograph issued following Blanc's death, Elmer is not shown among the characters bowing their heads in tribute to Blanc. Beside Bryan, numerous other actors have voiced Elmer, including: In
16560-604: The voice for Elmer's co-starring appearance in Pre-Hysterical Hare , as during production of the cartoon, Bryan was unavailable due to either feeling ill or appearing on a lot of television shows in New York at the time. Elmer was originally going to be voiced in that cartoon by Daws Butler . In 1959, Bryan died at age 60, and Hal Smith was selected to replace him as Elmer, but after just two cartoons ( Dog Gone People (1960) and What's My Lion? (1961)) were recorded by
16698-591: The voice had slight variations between the units. Bugs also made cameos in Avery's final Warner Bros. cartoon, Crazy Cruise . Since Bugs' fifth appearance in A Wild Hare , he appeared in color Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies films (making him one of the few recurring characters created for the series in the Schlesinger era prior to the full conversion to color), alongside Egghead, Inki , Sniffles , and Elmer Fudd (who actually co-existed in 1937 along with Egghead as
16836-574: The voice of Mel Blanc in "Tokyo Woes" (1945) about the propaganda radio host Tokyo Rose . He also faces off against Hermann Göring and Hitler in Herr Meets Hare (1945), which introduced his well-known reference to Albuquerque as he mistakenly winds up in the Black Forest of 'Joimany' instead of Las Vegas , Nevada . Bugs also appeared in the 1942 two-minute U.S. war bonds commercial film Any Bonds Today? , along with Porky and Elmer. At
16974-509: The voice of Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly, Dr. John as himself and the voice of Yakety Yak, Derrick Stevens as the voice of MC Skat Kat , and Squeak as the voice of Fatz. In 1996, Bugs and the other Looney Tunes characters appeared in the live-action/animated film, Space Jam , directed by Joe Pytka and starring NBA superstar Michael Jordan . The film also introduced the character Lola Bunny , who becomes Bugs' new love interest. Space Jam received mixed reviews from critics, but
17112-657: The voice was provided by Blanc: in Good Night Elmer (1940), Blanc did Elmer's crying; in The Wacky Wabbit (1942), Blanc did Fudd's screams of fear; in The Big Snooze (1946), Blanc spoke as Fudd crying, "Oh, agony, agony!"; in The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950), only a single line was needed, and bringing in Bryan was not cost effective; in Quack Shot (1954), Blanc did Elmer's Peter Lorre -esque laugh after he
17250-409: Was a box office success (grossing over $ 230 million worldwide). The success of Space Jam led to the development of another live-action/animated film, Looney Tunes: Back in Action , released in 2003 and directed by Joe Dante . Unlike Space Jam , Back in Action was a box-office bomb , though it did receive more positive reviews from critics. In 1997, Bugs appeared on a U.S. postage stamp ,
17388-459: Was a common expression in his native Texas and that he did not think much of the phrase. Back then "doc" meant the same as " dude " does today. When the cartoon was first screened in theaters, the "What's up, Doc?" scene generated a tremendously positive audience reaction. Another catchphrase associated with the character's tendency to play the trickster is "Ain't I a stinker", an acknowledgement that he engages in unfair tactics. used as early as
17526-566: Was also one of the final productions in which Mel Blanc voiced Bugs (as well as the other Looney Tunes characters) before his death in 1989. Bugs later appeared in another animated production featuring numerous characters from rival studios: the 1990 drug prevention TV special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue . This special is notable for being the first time that someone other than Blanc voiced Bugs and Daffy (both characters were voiced by Jeff Bergman for this). Bugs also made guest appearances in
17664-420: Was continuously featured in comic books for more than 40 years, from 1941 to 1983, and has appeared sporadically since then. Bugs first appeared in comic books in 1941, in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics #1, published by Dell Comics . Bugs was a recurring star in that book all through its 153-issue run, which lasted until July 1954. Western Publishing (and its Dell imprint) published 245 issues of
17802-480: Was created for Bugs' 50th anniversary celebration. It was followed by (Blooper) Bunny , a cartoon that was shelved from theaters, but later premiered on Cartoon Network in 1997 and has since gained a cult following among animation fans for its edgy humor. Later that year, Bugs appeared in Yakety Yak, Take it Back , a live-action/animated all-star public service music video produced by Warner Bros. Animation for
17940-417: Was depicted without his trademark double-barreled shotgun in the first season of Looney Tunes Cartoons on the streaming service, HBO Max . The series executive producer and showrunner , Peter Browngardt, said the character could continue to use cartoon violence , such as dynamite and Acme related paraphernalia. The absence of the shotgun has garnered both acclaim and controversy. By 2021, his shotgun
18078-411: Was in this cartoon that the popular "milk-sop" wabbit voice of Elmer Fudd was created. Elmer Fudd has since been the chief antagonistic force in most of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, initiating one of the most famous rivalries in the history of American cinema. Sometime later on in this year, some new drawings and redesigns of Elmer Fudd were being created by a character designer, Charlie Thorson . In 1940,
18216-452: Was later completely different, with each cartoon simply presented on its own, title and all, though some clips from the new bridging material were sometimes used as filler. Bugs did not appear in any of the post-1964 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies films produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises or Seven Arts Productions , nor did he appear in Filmation 's Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet
18354-422: Was only used in the films created by Clampett's unit, but in time it was taken up by the other directors, with Freleng and Frank Tashlin the first. McKimson would use another version of the rabbit by Jean Blanchard until 1949 (as did Art Davis for the one Bugs Bunny film he directed, Bowery Bugs ) when he started using the version he had designed for Clampett. Jones came up with his own slight modification, and
18492-461: Was prevalent in the Elmer's Candid Camera and Elmer's Pet Rabbit cartoons, where the writers would give him exaggerated lines such as, "My, that weawwy was a dewicious weg of wamb." To further exaggerate his qualities as a harmless nebbish. The writers often gave him lines filled with those letters, such as doing Shakespeare 's Romeo as "What wight thwough yonduh window bweaks!" or Wagner 's Ride of
18630-524: Was reinstated in the show's second season. He is once again voiced by Jeff Bergman in the series. Fudd was originally voiced by Mel Blanc between 1937 and 1938, Danny Webb between 1938 and 1939 (only in Cinderella Meets Fella (1938) and Believe It or Else (1939)), Roy Rogers in 1938, only doing a singing voice in A Feud There Was , and radio actor Arthur Q. Bryan between 1939 and 1959, but on seven occasions during Bryan's lifetime,
18768-459: Was responsible for the initial design of the rabbit). This cartoon has an almost identical plot to Avery's Porky's Duck Hunt (1937), which had introduced Daffy Duck . Porky Pig is again cast as a hunter tracking a silly prey who is more interested in driving his pursuer insane and less interested in escaping. Hare Hunt replaces the little black duck with a small white rabbit. According to Friz Freleng , Hardaway and Dalton had decided to "dress
18906-401: Was usually cast as a hapless big-game hunter , armed with a double-barreled shotgun (albeit one which could be fired much more than twice without being reloaded) and creeping through the woods "hunting wabbits". In a few cartoons, though, he assumed a completely different persona—a wealthy industrialist type, occupying a luxurious penthouse , or, in one episode involving a role reversal ,
19044-421: Was vital for the audience to understand what the word was. (For example, in 1944's The Old Grey Hare , he clearly pronounces the "r" in the word "picture".) Arthur Q. Bryan died in 1959, but the character was not completely retired at that time. Elmer made appearances in several television specials in the 1970s and 1980s, and some cameo roles in two of the Looney Tunes feature-film compilations. Elmer made
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